Song Ting didn't explicitly state who "he" was, but Qi Zhou could guess a thing or two.

This magnificent mansion originally belonged to the current half-brother, Prince Duan, Chu Mingyao. Later, Prince Duan committed treason, his entire family was executed, and the mansion was burned to the ground.

It wasn't until this spring that the emperor wanted to bestow a residence upon Song Ting, but the latter voluntarily accepted the place.

But everyone knows that the evidence of Prince Duan's treason was presented by Song Ting.

It was Song Ting who led the raid on the Prince Duan's mansion, executing everyone there. They then burned the mansion to the ground.

Now he actually dares to ask the emperor to allow the Prince Duan's Mansion to be his own residence, which shocks the entire court.

Many people secretly gossiped behind his back, thinking that Song Ting was using this to intimidate the officials.

He wasn't even afraid of vengeful spirits, let alone people like them.

That's how Song Ting's infamous reputation spread.

Song was fearless and insisted on taking the mansion. He then personally led the craftsmen to restore it according to the original style of the Prince's Mansion.

Even the plants, trees, flowers, and leaves in the Prince's Palace are almost exactly the same as before.

There was once a young master of noble birth in the Prince Duan's mansion. Qi Zhou had the good fortune to see him a few times. He was truly a man of great talent and bearing. The "he" that Song Ting mentioned was most likely that master.

"Would you like to build a snowman, sir? Shall I push you over there?"

Song Ting had been stabbed in the chest with a sharp blade, and the wound had not been treated and was extremely serious.

It took the doctor two or three hours to clean the rotten flesh from the wound.

If the knife tip had been just an inch off, it would have pierced Song Ting's heart, and Song Ting would have been certain to die.

Even though he was lucky enough to survive, his condition remained terrible. He was like a weed with no will to live, and any wind or rain could destroy him.

Xiao Wu was very worried that Song Ting wouldn't be able to hold on, and so was Qi Zhou.

He felt that the frail, sickly man in front of him was clinging to life by a single breath, and that he would truly die the day that breath was gone.

Just two months ago, he was a highly decorated commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but after only one trip outside, he lost all his vitality.

But no one dared to ask Song Ting what had happened.

Even the doctor who treated his injuries had his neck snapped by Song Ting's own hands.

It was then that Qi Zhou understood why Song Ting wouldn't allow Xiao Wu to go to the palace to fetch the imperial physician.

Because he didn't want anyone to know that he was injured.

Qi Zhou initially thought that Song Ting was being cautious, fearing that someone with ulterior motives might take the opportunity to harm them, but later he discovered that was not the case.

"Push me over there," Song Ting coughed and said.

Qi Zhou then pushed the wheelchair to the foot of the tree.

But before they could make a move, Seventeen returned, with a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties as a prisoner.

"My lord." Seventeen carefully handed a porcelain-white jade pendant to Song Ting.

Song Ting held the jade pendant, her fingertips slowly tracing the rough "Chu" character on the back, and her internal organs began to ache.

This jade pendant wasn't actually worth much; it was the first gift he gave to Chu Huaixu, and the surname of the person on it was also carved by his own hand.

It was ugly. I originally thought it was too embarrassing to wear and wanted to hide it, but that person saw it and snatched it away. After that, I wore it every day and said I liked it very much.

There is only one such jade pendant in the entire world, and Song Ting would not mistake his own handwriting.

His gaze lightly fell on the man's face, like a thousand pounds of pressure, instantly crushing the man.

"It's him?"

Seventeen: "Yes."

Song Ting nodded, rocked his wheelchair, and Qi Zhou offered to push it for him, but he stopped him and rocked the wheelchair over himself.

The man was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. Upon seeing Song Ting, he hurriedly grabbed Song Ting's legs and begged him tearfully:

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

Song Ting reached out and grabbed the man by the neck, forcefully lifting him up.

His voice was low, but it still carried clearly in the snow-swept courtyard, loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Three months ago, on Mount Fuyao, did you kill someone?"

The man seemed to have realized something, and his face turned horrified.

Having killed and interrogated so many people, Song Ting naturally noticed the man's unusual behavior at a glance.

His eyes were deep and dark, and his face instantly turned frosty. His fingers tightened, and he coldly said, "Speak."

The man coughed violently from the pain of suffocation, his eyes rolling back, and clung to Song Ting's arm, begging for mercy:

"I'll talk, I'll talk... Your Excellency, spare my life..."

The man's name is Li Erniu. He is a farmer in Bailu Village. Besides himself, he has an elderly mother in her seventies and two young children.

This year's severe flooding submerged all the crops in the fields, resulting in a poor harvest.

Seeing that his mother and child were about to starve to death, Li Erniu joined several young men from the village to rob them on the mountainside.

They were all farmers, strong and tanned, and their burly figures could indeed intimidate many passing caravans.

"We'll pick the pigs; we'll only go after the ones that look rich and timid. These people usually value their lives and would rather lose money than suffer a disaster."

Pigs are the targets of robbery, but since it's not appropriate to say it directly, they use "pig" as a euphemism.

"But three months ago..."

Three months ago, they encountered a young man traveling alone. He was dressed in unremarkable clothes and looked rather disheveled, clearly someone in a hurry.

People like Li Erniu are usually not robbed, as they don't usually have much money from them.

"That was our original plan that day: not to take him, to let him pass, but..."

Li Erniu observed Song Ting's expression, hesitant to continue, but Song Ting gave him a look that seemed to suggest he would snap his neck if he didn't speak.

Although Li Erniu and his gang were bandits who were feared by everyone, the person in front of them reminded him of evil spirits from the underworld.

One glance was enough to make his legs tremble. He stammered, "But he's so handsome..."

Li Erniu and his friends were all native to Bailu Village. They had hardly ever left this land in their lives. The most beautiful woman they had ever seen was the wife of the pig butcher at the entrance of the village.

However, compared to the man in front of her, the butcher's wife was just a handful of mud under his feet, not even enough to wipe his feet.

Wang Youcai had recently lost his wife and hadn't been with anyone in a long time. His eyes immediately fell on that person and he couldn't take them off.

"Brothers, I feel like she's a woman."

Li Erniu estimated the other person's height and said doubtfully, "That's too tall..."

“What do you know? Since she can dress up as a man, she probably even padded her shoes with something,” Wang Youcai said.

Wang Youcai was a ruthless character; he had killed someone when he was just over ten years old.

However, because he killed his beastly father, the villagers took pity on him and helped him cover it up with the authorities.

This man was the one who first came up with the idea of ​​robbing people; he was considered the leader of their gang.